I had the chance to catch up with CEO and Co-Founder of Select Draw Cigar Cutter Mark Weissman. An innovative cutter produced with the cigar smoker in my mind. I had a few questions for Mr. Weissman that he happily answered. Here is what he had to say.
Q. Where is the headquarters for Select Draw Cigar Cutter?
A. Our company is located in Maryland and our distribution center is located right outside of Washington, DC.
Q. When did you first find your passion for the cigar culture?
A .Over 28 years ago. I would enjoy a great cigar on the golf course with friends who also smoked.
Q. What are your favorite cigars to smoke currently?
A. Cohiba, Padron, Ashton, and currently smoking a lot of Atabey now.
Q. Prior to the creation of select draw what was your preferred method of cutting a cigar?
A. Bullet
Q. What cons did you see in other methods that select draw fixes?
A. Cigar smokers are many times set in their ways and creatures of habit. With a Select Draw Cigar Cutters there is a different method to cutting/piercing your cigar. With our cutter there are no particles of tobacco in your mouth when smoking a cigar
Q. How did you come to the conclusion that cutter of this style would work effectively?
A. When we had a prototype and then a final product we tested it many many times and the draw was amazing after we had pierced the top Of the Cigar then pierced the side of the Cigar it was a whole new experience of smoking
Q What was the trial and error process like?
A. Very lengthy process in getting a final product with the fine tuning and spacing of our prongs. An even more lengthy process was our Patent/Trademark that was just awarded in April 2020.
Q. How long did the entire process take to get to a final product? A. From start to finish approximately 7 months and we launched December 2018 at our launch party in Maryland.
Q. Currently there is an original and obsidian version. Can we expect any other versions in the future?
A. We are working on several new ideas that we have been testing, possibly a new color. The obsidian was a limited edition and is now sold out on our website.
There you have it. The Select Draw Cigar Cutter was a miracle in the making. I personally use it as my stand alone go to cutter. The option to add more airflow at a moments notice and make adjustments is delightful o say the least. I appreciate Mr. Weissman taking some time out of his busy day to answer the questions that I had. Stayed tuned as we will be speaking with his partner Marc Alston in the near future as well. Maybe we can get a glimpse into what will be coming next for Select Draw.